Leave it to a Texan to spin a subsidy of plug-in hybrids as a “damn the greenies and all things Washington, DC” move. Hard to believe, but that is what Gov. Rick Perry just did in his recent State of the State address. It’s an entertaining read for those who enjoy reading between the lines. Perry starts by decrying big spending interventionist government; then goes on to ask for more money for the state’s Emerging Technology Fund, Film Incentives,  Enterprise Fund, Skills Development Fund, the Texas Grant Program, the Workforce Commission’s Skills Development Fund …. well, you get the idea. But wait, this is The Truth About Cars, not The Truth About Government (someone start that site, ‘kay?).

(Read More…)

The Aston Martin factory in Gaydon is moving to a three-day work week, as demand for the eternally troubled supercar maker’s mechanically-plagued products craters. The BBC reports that the marque’s masters are putting the best possible spin on the move, which is fooling nobody. “The company, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, said the new Monday to Wednesday shift pattern was temporary and affected just under 600 staff. The employees’ hours will be ‘banked’ and claimed back by the firm later. The firm, which announced 600 redundancies in December, said it had consulted unions over the move. Three hundred staff have already left and it is in the final stages of consultation over the remaining 300. It will employ 1,250 staff at Gaydon following the planned redundancies.” But wait! Here comes the cavalry!

(Read More…)

Bentley is hanging out the greenwashing. Yes, Bentley. Volkswagen-owned uber-luxury marque tasked with somehow meeting new European and now Californian emissions laws, without shovelling 34,746 lithium-ion batteries under bonnet. Or perhaps that is the plan, eventually. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of pol-pleasing auto execs? Meanwhile, Bentley’s asking the autoblogosphere to marvel— marvel I tell you!— at a highly-horsed E85-compatible Bentley Continental GT headed for the Geneva Auto Show. Honestly chaps, I can’t think of a more pathetic attempt to appease your European overlords. I also can’t imagine that a single Bentley customer could or would give a shit that their 600hp Bentley can run on corn juice– especially when they find out that filling-up with E85 gives them fewer mpgs in a vehicle with not a single mpg to spare (especially in 600hp trim). And how exactly does E85-compatibility cut a Bentley’s CO2 emissions on a “well-to-wheel basis?” Apparently, this such an important development for environmentalists that Autobloggreen doesn’t even mention it. Instead… “In any case, a new Bentley’s coming, and it’s fixin’ to open up a plus-sized can of whoop-ass.” So much for trees, then.

The Hyundai Sonata is a great car for people who don’t care all that much about cars. That’s not a slam. I have a friend who considers his car a device for moving bicycles around. Another buddy would drive a large teapot if it promised a cheap commute. These are bright, successful guys for whom “driving dynamics” are as valuable as GPS on a squirrel (hunters excluded). These motorists deserve a decent ride. Once again, Hyundai’s stepped up to the pump with an automobile that’s so generic you expect to find it in the paper towel section of your local supermarket.

Holy printing press Batman! Those are some serious spondoolies! Or are we at the point now where $10b worth of federal largess for the U.S. auto industry is just another day at the office? Automotive News [AN] sure seems non-plussed. “The companies will ask for the loans to be funneled through the Detroit 3 so suppliers can be paid in 10 days for parts delivered instead of the usual 45 days, said Neil De Koker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association in suburban Detroit. The association also will ask the Treasury Department to guarantee certain supplier receivables so parts makers can use that owed money to borrow the working capital they need to operate, De Koker said.” So Uncle Sam loans $10b to companies to supply automakers to whom we’ve already loaned $13.4b, who aren’t selling Jack at the moment, whose “viability plans” have yet to be scrutinized. Makes sense to De Koker, ’cause “without government help, hundreds of suppliers might close or be forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.” What happens when all these companies are in default of their federal loans?

There, I’ve said it. In their rush to report that Elena Ford is the Blue Oval Boyz newly appointed director of global sales, marketing and service operations; the MSM seems to have forgotten Ms. Ford’s Mercurial past. In fact, the fruit of Charlotte Ford and Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos was appointed the head of Ford’s Voldemort (Mercury) in June 2004. Newsweek: “Elena is planning to roll out new, crisply designed models in 2004 to go after sophisticated young professionals who drive Volkswagens. Launching a youth movement won’t be easy and she admits the elderly customers ‘don’t fit perfectly into our strategy,’ but argues Mercury needs them to help fund the brand’s overhaul.” At the time, some commentators said that Ford was the only reason Ford kept plowing money into Mercury. Churlish perhaps, but how would you like to be the one telling the Ford family that you were pulling the rug from under Elena’s feet? So how does today’s press release spin this less-than-glorious chapter in Ms. Ford’s corporate career? Easy. They don’t.

(Read More…)

Now that Csaba Csere has left Car and Driver– hang on. Has he left? I forgot that buff books have a two month lead time. Two months? Can you imagine TTAC (or anyone else) trying to write anything even remotely relevant about automobiles two months in advance? Anyway, now that Csere has left C and D, nothing. No change. Seriously. I could summarize this supercar comparo without reading it. Here goes. Viper – fast, rough, dangerous. Mercedes –  heavy, expensive, OMG thrust, handles better than it should. ZR1 – Shitty interior but mind-blowing fun. Such a deal. Lambo – Insane! Let’s have a look. Yup. Nailed it. OK, I thought the Lambo would win. But who cares? Does the fact that I find these articles interminable mean that I’m finally entering the “get off my lawn” phase of my life? In any case, can Car and Driver please stop all that “don’t hate us for loving fast cars” crap? In fact, I’m beginning to do just that– if not for the reasons they suggest. I swear I’ve been reading the “we heart dinosaurs” routine for twenty years now. Enough.

A TTAC reader writes: “Hi Robert I re-read your article on the Porsche Carrera 4. I’m looking for more info to help me decide if I should get a Carrera S or Carrera 4S later this year. I took a 1/2 day Porsche Driving Experience a couple months back with the Carrera S, and the handling was awesome plus the PSM seems to handle a lot of the ‘saving you from yourself’. Do you have any other input that could help me decide if it’s worth the extra $6k? I do not live in an icy part of the country, but down the road I don’t want to regret not getting it.” My take: if you drive like your hair’s on fire, the 4S is well worth the extra money. The only way to kill yourself is to aim at something. If you’re not Mr. 10/10ths, you might as well get a Boxster S or Cayman S. They’re more fun to drive at sane speeds, and a lot less money. Alternatively, why not consider the Panamera? You see how wrong that is? OK, B&B, what’s your advice?

I find the whole “TTAC is pro-Toyota” meme a little strange. Have a look at our coverage of their greenwashing or our reviews of their automobiles (including our excoriation of various Scion). Yes, The Big 2.8 get ten times the coverage afforded the transplants. But we’re an American-based website, and the Motown meltdown is the biggest story in the history of American automaking. Yes, our Bertel Schmitt recently wrote a compare and contrast blog, pointing out the differences between Toyota’s response to the auto industry meltdown with GM’s. But it’s the truth dammit, and that’s the business we’re in. Feel free to discuss TTAC’s “perception gap” below. Meanwhile, I want to point out that Autoblog’s recent “discovery” [via their BFF at AutoLine] that Toyota has “only” $18.5b worth of cash, supposedly placing them in the same boat as, say, GM, is wildly disingenuous.

(Read More…)

Mission-critical musical lyric: “you are the victim.”

Newly-confirmed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner highlights “President Barack Obama’s firm commitment to transparency, accountability and oversight in our government’s approach to stabilizing the financial system,” in his announcement today of reforms to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA). Details on the reforms are sketchy at the moment, as the new President’s commitment to vague details remains firmly in place. Read the Treasury press release here, or hit the jump for the salient points. Still no comment from the DC (neé Detroit) Two on the development, or word from the Treasury on whether this effects Terminator product placement.

(Read More…)

The global bailout arms race (comprehensively documented by our John Horner) has finally come to the attention of the World Trade Organization. And as the orgy of national subsidies, loans, stimulus, clunker-culling and assorted industry handouts roars along unabated, old mother WTO is making feeble threats about the dire, dire consequences. “Nothing can be said for the time being about the likely trade impact of these measures, many of which are still lacking publicly announced details,” WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy tells Reuters. “It must be recognised that some of the measures at least, which in most cases constitute some form of state aid or subsidy, may eventually have negative spill-over effects on other markets or introduce distortions to competition between financial institutions.” And in one epic equivocation, Lamy ensured that the WTO would not be the stout bastion of free trade principle in the face of an “economic stimulus” epidemic. Which means John’s list is going to keep getting longer, as the race to the bottom is replaced by a race to re-capitalize national auto industries. The only way that this trend won’t end in trade wars is if there’s no moral high ground to go around. The WTO can’t do much of anything to prevent the convulsions of bailout mania, but a few grown-up words of warning and history would have been nice.

For a long time, the Chinese car market looked more like the American and less like the European markets. They liked big, they liked SUVs, they liked real cars with a trunk. For a long time, hatchbacks and subcompacts were unsalable in China. Last year, the picture changed. More and more low cost subcompacts are getting on Chinese roads.

“In China, new-car sales last year rose just 6.7 percent to 9.38m units, slamming the brakes on the market’s double-digit growth. Nonetheless, a batch of automakers enjoyed nearly 30 percent jumps in sales,” the Nikkei (sub) writes. And who might those be?

(Read More…)

Hey, someone from Jaguar talked to the press about the firm’s forthcoming sportscar and let them use their name! Jag’s Julian Rendell tells Autoweek that an “affordable, front-engine sportscar” is likely to be approved by management. No kids, it won’t be an R8-caliber supercar, but rather a long-awaited F-Type. Only it will be called the XE. Which sounds like a trim level on some D-segment commuter car.